SPOILER WARNING

First off, let me say that I liked The Sixth Sense, even though some bastard (*ahem* Shane Bettenhausen) told me the ending before I saw it. Actually, by the time I saw it, it was on DVD and I was quite sick of hearing about how it was the greatest thing of all time. So I was prejudiced against it right off the bat. Also, I really like Unbreakable. I think it is a very good story and very well directed. It seems that M. Night is very good at taking a fantastic concept and placing it in a real world setting. Unbreakable is not the story of a superhero, it is the story a guy might tell after asking, "What if my dad was a superhero?" Signs is along these same lines.

Clear up any misconceptions you may have, this movie is not about crop circles. They do not spend the whole movie trying to unravel the mysteries of crop circles only to realize at the end that they are caused by aliens. This is actually figured out fairly early in the movie. I was very glad to find this out. Signs is also not alien invasion on the Independence Day or War of the Worlds scale. It is, like Unbreakable, the story of "What would my dad do if an alien invasion occurred?" You only really hear about the invasion through TV stories and the radio, which makes it even more chilling. It is kind of like when the WTC towers fell. We watched it on TV far away from the events, but we still felt unsafe. There is a scene where Joaquin Phoenix is watching footage on television of an alien seen at a kid's birthday party that is very well done. His reaction is perfect.

I liked this movie a lot, and so did Kim. It is not E.T., Close Encounters, ID4, War of the Worlds, (dare I mention The Arrival?) or like any other movie about alien invasion I've seen. It definitely feels more real. Even at the end, when you are expecting some kind of grand, huge ending...it is as simple as it can get. What do you do when an alien is holding your child in a threatening manner? You hit it with the nearest baseball bat. The whole water thing does seem a little forced, and I've already read the internet movie community crying out these complaints: "What about the dew that must have been on the corn when the aliens were in the field?!! Why would aliens who are allergic to water come to a planet that is 70% or more made up of water?!! Why would aliens who are allergic to water be interested in beings who are mostly water?!! If they can master interstellar travel, why can't they break through a damn door?!!" My answer to these questions is simple: SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH AND WATCH THE MOVIE! You know why the aliens in this movie come to Earth? Because no one would care if they invaded Mars. I don't see how these techno geeks can ever enjoy anything. I don't look for holes in a movie when I watch it, I just roll with what happens. No one tries to point out the holes in a news story, why go and purposefuly screw up your own enjoyment of a fictional story. Yes, sometimes writers get weak and they take an easy out that may not be thought all the way through. So, poke all the holes in Signs that you want, I liked it. I won't be kept awake at night wondering if maybe the aliens aren't allergic to pure water and that is why the dew doesn't hurt them. Maybe the little girl is on to something and the water really is bad.

So, I recommend that you see this movie and then post your reaction in the forum. I think it is very refreshing take on an alien invasion story, and wonderfully directed by Shyamalamamadingdong. In the first few cuts of the movie, he tells a lot about the characters without any dialogue. We see a picture of Mel Gibson and his family where Mel is dressed as a priest. Then we see a shot with a wall where a crucifix used to hang. It is very telling and you are already wondering, "What made this guy lose the faith?" To that point, I'm not sure I like what the movie says about the nature of faith. I did like the scenes where Mel was denouncing his faith, and I really like the line, "I will not waste one more minute on prayer!" However, at the end, because of the fact that his son lived, and all these extraordinary circumstances lead to it, he regains his faith. If I remember, the story in the Bible is that God took everything away from Job to taste his faith. He did not then go out of His way to see to it that Job's son lived through an alien invasion after Job lost his faith. I'm not a religious man...not in the least, but it seems strange to suggest that God is looking out for the guy who gave up. And I'm not sure if M. Night is trying to suggest that God staged an alien invasion to prove that he is looking out for Mel Gibson. Maybe he is just saying that people of faith see what they need to see. Anyway...let me know what you think.